Aromas of blackberry, cocoa, oyster shell, graphite and black tea. Lead pencil, too. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, tight-grained tannins. Structured and intense. Tight and precise. Needs a few years to soften and open. Try from 2025. (4/22/21)"

The 2018 Batailley is deep garnet-purple in color and offers up bright Morello cherries, black raspberries and redcurrant notes over a cassis and plum preserves core with a waft of dried mint. Full-bodied with a good core of juicy fruit, it has approachable, ripe tannins and a lively lift to the finish.

"This estate at the western edge of Pauillac is beginning to show its potential. Powerful and dense, this wine offers concentrated black fruits and tannins that are solid and dry. The wine has a firm character, full bodied and with a long-term future. Drink from 2026. Alcohol 14.5%. (May 2021)"

The 2018 Batailley, matured in 60% new oak, is almost identical on the nose as I found it in barrel, decked out with attractive black cherries and cassis notes, the cedar element a little heightened and freshly rolled tobacco notes developing with aeration. Very fine delineation here, and the oak is well integrated. The balanced palate offers fine tannins that frame the blackberry and bilberry fruit. The salinity comes through nicely on the finish, which is less silky than before, but it waves adieu with a long spicy aftertaste. Very fine and very Batailley.

Youthfully compact, with the core of black currant, blackberry and black cherry paste flavors still coiled up. There's a sturdy backdrop of singed alder, warm earth and smoldering cast iron that give it an old school touch. Structure is ripe and energetic too. Really well built. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2024 through 2036. 25,000 cases made.